What a landlord reviews before and after a lease in Baghdad
The office of lawyer Ali Barakat in Baghdad sets out what is reviewed, from the landlord's side, before a lease is concluded and after it is in force. The framework combines Rent of Immovable Property Law No. 87 of 1979, as amended, published in the Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 2719, of 30/6/1979, the lease provisions of Civil Code No. 40 of 1951, and the entries of the Real Estate Registration Department under Real Estate Registration Law No. 43 of 1971.
Identifying the governing framework before the contract is concluded
The first matter to review is which statute governs the contract. The Rent of Immovable Property Law applies to built properties leased for residential purposes to Iraqis, lying within the limits of Amanat Baghdad and the municipalities, under article 1, first. Paragraph 2 excepts, and subjects to the Civil Code or to special laws, listed categories, including residential properties that the State or public legal persons lease to their employees, and properties leased to non-Iraqis, whether persons or bodies. A commercial shop lease, or a lease outside that scope, is read under the Civil Code lease provisions, beginning with article 722, which defines a lease as a transfer of a known benefit for a known consideration for a known period. That identification precedes the drafting of terms, because the timetable for paying rent, the extension of the contract and the grounds for eviction are not moved from one statute to another at will.
Title is reviewed from the title deed or a certified copy of the real estate register. The registers, certified copies of them and the deeds issued from them are the basis for proving ownership, and they are evidence against all persons as to what is recorded in them unless they are challenged as forgeries, under article 10 of the Real Estate Registration Law. What is attached to a registration application, including the deed or a copy of the register and the legal documents on which the filing is based, is set out in article 83 of the same law. The landlord therefore shows the capacity in which the property is let — as owner, agent or guardian — which meets the Civil Code requirement that, for the lease to take effect, the lessor must own what is let, or be the owner's agent or guardian, under article 723.
The term of the lease is fixed in the contract. If it is not fixed, a lease that falls within Law No. 87 of 1979 is treated as concluded for one year, running from the time named in the contract, or, if none is named, from the date the property is delivered to the tenant free of occupancy, under article 2.
Delivery and rent while the contract is in force
The landlord must deliver the leased property to the tenant in a condition that permits the agreed use, under article 8 of the Rent of Immovable Property Law. In contracts governed by the Civil Code, the core obligation remains to enable the tenant to use the property, under article 722.
Rent for properties covered by the Rent of Immovable Property Law is paid in advance in monthly instalments, regardless of the term of the contract, and any agreement to the contrary is void, under article 10, first. If the landlord is the State or a public legal person, the tenant may pay monthly or in one or more instalments. Payment may be made through the notary public or by a bank or postal transfer to the landlord's account. If the landlord refuses to accept a due instalment, the tenant may deposit it with the notary public in the city where the property lies, within fifteen days of the date it falls due. The landlord bears the costs of the warning and of the deposit, which are deducted from the deposited instalment, under paragraphs 2 and 3.
Sub-leasing, or assignment of the lease in whole or in part, is prohibited unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, under article 11. The tenant may not house in the property anyone other than the persons named in the contract except with the landlord's written consent, subject to the exceptions in article 13 for certain ascendants and descendants and those whom the law or custom requires the tenant to support, on the conditions stated there.
This is a description of what the statute attaches to the landlord and the tenant in the contract documents and in the course of paying rent. ing from the notary public, which is a separate path.
What is reviewed after the contract, and on a transfer of title or a vacancy
If ownership of the property is transferred, the new owner takes the place of the previous landlord in the rights and obligations laid down by the Rent of Immovable Property Law, under article 14, first. The new owner must notify the tenant, through the notary public, of the transfer of title within thirty days beginning the day after the property is registered in the new owner's name, and must attach a document issued by the Real Estate Registration Department confirming that registration. The new owner must also apply to the Real Estate Tax Office to record the transfer of title within thirty days beginning the day after the tenant is notified, under paragraph 2.
If a property prepared for residential letting becomes vacant, the owner must inform the Real Estate Tax Office and the information office, or the police station if there is no such office, of the vacancy within fifteen days of the date it became vacant, under article 20. Vacancy here means that the property is unoccupied. It is not a payment agreed outside the rent.
A claim for eviction for failure to pay a rent instalment has its own time limits and a warning through the notary public. That is the subject of the page Eviction for unpaid rent. Commercial shop letting is read on the page Commercial shop lease and key money (khuluw / jadak), because the scope of Law No. 87 of 1979 is, as already stated, tied to residential purposes.
Legal basis and sources
- Rent of Immovable Property Law No. 87 of 1979, as amended (Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 2719 of 30/6/1979)
- Civil Code No. 40 of 1951 (Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 3015 of 8/9/1951) — Article 722 and following
- Real Estate Registration Law No. 43 of 1971 (Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 1995 of 10/5/1971) — Articles 10 and 83
Frequently asked questions
Does Rent of Immovable Property Law No. 87 of 1979 apply to every lease in Baghdad?
No. It applies to built properties leased for residential purposes to Iraqis within the limits of Amanat Baghdad and the municipalities, under article 1, subject to the exceptions that place the lease under the Civil Code or under special laws. A lease outside that scope is read under the Civil Code lease provisions.
What may the tenant do if the landlord refuses to accept a rent instalment?
If the contract is covered by the Rent of Immovable Property Law, the tenant may deposit the instalment with the notary public in the city where the property lies, within fifteen days of the date it falls due, under article 10, third. The landlord bears the costs of the warning and of the deposit, which are deducted from the deposited instalment.
What must a new owner do in relation to the tenant and the Real Estate Tax Office?
The new owner must notify the tenant, through the notary public, of the transfer of title within thirty days of the day after the property is registered in the new owner's name, attach a document from the Real Estate Registration Department, and apply to the Real Estate Tax Office to record the transfer within thirty days of the day after the tenant is notified, under article 14, second.
Related topics and articles
- 01An eviction claim for unpaid rentEviction under Rent Law 87/1979 for unpaid rent (art. 17, first paragraph): the notary warning and the seven-, eight- and fifteen-day periods.
- 02Commercial shop lease and key money (khuluw / jadak)A commercial shop lease in Iraq under the Civil Code lease rules, and khuluw (jadak) as a contractual bargain, with the scope of Law 87/1979 stated.
- 03Sale or mortgage and the real-estate tax step in governorates not organised in a regionSale or mortgage and the real-estate tax step in governorates not organised in a region, under Law 162/1959 and Land Registration Law 43/1971.
- 04Ending co-ownership of shared propertyHow co-ownership of property ends under the Civil Code: agreed partition by registration, a First Instance claim, or sale if it cannot be divided.
- 05Acquisitive possession of property and the passage of timeWhen an ownership claim against a possessor of unregistered property is not heard: fifteen years, or five with good faith and just title (art. 1158).